A marketing leader analyzing the marketing framework on a whiteboard, illustrating the critical role of strategic frameworks in effective marketing leadership.

Always In Your Corner: Why The Marketing Framework Is The Secret To Effective Marketing Leadership

Nicholas Porter

It just happens. Marketing leaders get bogged down in the weeds. 

More often than not, they’re furiously multitasking 一 fine-tuning strategies, removing roadblocks, collaborating across the board, and, let’s not forget, managing feedback from every other department in the organization. 

After all, it’s no secret that marketing is the one function in almost every organization where strong opinions and input from every department is not just typical but expected.

It can be overwhelming. But, honestly? You can always rely on “one simple trick” that can ground even the busiest marketing leaders.

I’m not talking about a shiny new tactic or anything related to whatever trendy buzzword you heard on a podcast last week.

No, what I’m referring to is far more useful.

Read More
Corporate team strategizing with AI to align sales and marketing goals

AI in Sales and Marketing Alignment: Kicking The Old School Tactics to the Curb (That Never Worked Anyway) and Changing The Game For Modern Times

Nicholas Porter

Let’s be real. You and I both know the “secrets” to achieving sales and marketing alignment. They’ve been out there for the taking since time immemorial. 

Are you still in the dark? Searching for the answers? Okay. Here ya go:

  • Start Talking. Begin by getting the marketing and sales chiefs in a room to hammer out some mutually beneficial strategies and define what winning looks like. 

  • Ensure Teams Are Communicating. Make sure sales and marketing teams meet regularly so sales can keep marketing in the loop with real talk from the front lines — i.e., what prospects and customers are actually saying. Turn these into brainstorming sessions where voices from both sides are heard, and quality and informed marketing efforts can then be devised.

  • Focus On Your Data. Does marketing have a blog that’s blowing up with views and engagement? That’s sales gold. Share it with sales so they can fold it into prospecting conversations and demos. It’s a no-brainer because it’s hard evidence that your audience is eating it up. 

If you have never considered these solutions, I’m happy I might have been able to help you consider how to fix some of the issues you are facing. 

But as B2B sales and marketing alignment has been a core focus of my work and interest for years now, I can confidently say those “solutions” are table stakes.

They are not groundbreaking strategies. They are simple recommendations that suggest two groups with a common goal should make the effort to speak to one another.

Notice I said “should” make the effort speak to one another. Because in my experience, they do not. 

Read More
This image shows a laptop with imagery on the screen that represents the transformative impact of generative AI in B2B marketing strategies and its ability to enhance search capabilities, improve customer interactions and boost customer conversion rates.

Generative AI in Marketing Isn’t Just About “Free” Blog Posts — It’s Actually Fueling a Next Generation Customer Search Experience For B2B Buyers

Nicholas Porter

“Marketing is a one-way street. Public relations, however, is a two-way street that allows communication back and forth with audiences.”

This quote echoes a message that bounced around the walls of the PR agencies I worked at early in my career.

The sentiment is accurate, but its spread fell short, likely because its arbiters were PR practitioners (LOL).

But all these years later, as a result of generative AI use in marketing — particularly its application in customer experience and engagement efforts — the idea has experienced a resurgence of sorts.

Of course these days most conversations focused on applications of generative AI in marketing revolve around marketers coping by calling themselves “prompt engineers” and CEOs exploring ways to gut content creation budgets. 

But lurking underneath these developments is the message those old PR sages relayed to me so many years ago: the best way to engage prospects and create customers is via two-way conversation.

A give and take — a dialogue instead of a monologue. 

Because for too long, organizations have have been standing on a ledge shouting in one direction, never considering any other way of doing things.

And unless we change course, it’s easy to imagine the nightmare ahead of us: short-sighted marketers forever shouting one-way messages into the void without ever considering that customers are actually seeking a “two-way street” exchange of information with organizations.

Oh, and that void? It’s now expanded to infinity in size due to the ever-growing, endless amount of garbage produced by generative AI.

Read More